Survival

The thought of being alone on the island while so many suns rose from the sea and went slowly back into the sea filled my heart with loneliness. I had not felt so lonely before because I was sure that the ship would return as Matasaip had said it would. Now my hopes were dead. Now I was really alone. I could not eat much, nor could I sleep without dreaming terrible dreams. The storm blew out of the north, sending big waves against the island and winds so strong that I was unable to stay on the rock. I moved my bed to the foot of the rock and for protection against the wild dogs.

To construct her fence, Karana uses the ribs of two whales that washed ashore years before. She plants them in the ground and ties them together with kelp. The house takes longer to build, partially because there are so few trees on the island that grow straight or tall enough to make poles. A legend among the people of Ghalas-at says that the island was covered with tall trees at the beginning of the world, when the gods Tumaiyowt and Mukat ruled. "Tumaiyowit wished people to die. Mukat did not. Tumaiyowit angrily went down, down to anther world, taking his belongings with him, so people die because he did." After searching for a long time, Karana finds enough poles to build her house. Her house has four poles one each side, one wall of rock, and a roof of eight poles bound together with sinew and covered with female kelp. Karana feels secure in her new house. Although animals come at night, they cannot get through the fence. Once her house is finished, Karana fashions some utensils from rocks. She makes a basket from reeds and seals it with pitch so that it can hold water. She also widens some cracks in her rock wall to make shelves that will keep her food safe from gray mice.
I got this information from:
http://www.rossglen.schools.sd76.ab.ca/RGSWebpage/Student/Neilson/documents/island_of_the_blue_dolphins.htm


http://dimdima.com/bookbuzz/show_books.asp?q_bid=80&q_title=Island%20of%20the%20Blue%20Dolphins


http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dolphins/section7.rhtml